Imagine if something as simple as regular physical activity not only improves muscles and mental health but also could help to fight off one of the deadliest diseases in the world, cancer. This idea is no longer just a hope. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet and the University of Cambridge have uncovered that the exercise can boosts the body’s immune cells, particularly cytotoxic T-cells, which target and destroy cancer. This breakthrough study, published in eLife, highlights the role of cytotoxic T-cells, specialized immune cells, in reducing cancer cells growth. It suggests that the benefits of exercise can offering a new tool to the patients, enhancing the treatments outcome.
Training empowers the cytotoxic T-cells that play a key role in defending the body against tumors by hunting down and attacking them. We can think of these immune cells as hunters, patrolling the body to find and eliminate cancer before it can spread. These immune cells are naturally equipped to eliminate cancer but what is new in this research is that regular physical activity improves their ability to do their job. During the exercise we can imagine our muscles as power stations, releasing energy-boosting compounds, like lactate, into the bloodstream. These molecules act like performance amplifiers for these immune soldiers, giving them the extra power they need to reach cancer cells and eliminate them faster and more efficiently. This study found that mice who exercised had significantly stronger T-cells than those that didn’t. When researchers transferred these enhanced T-cells to sedentary mice, they still slowed tumor progression.
The benefits of physical activity go even further. It also changes the environment around the tumor, creating a more favorable setting for the immune system to work. This new battlefield makes it easier for the T-cells to locate and attack cancer, which would otherwise grow. This dual effect, strengthening both the immune response and the tumor environment, makes exercise a powerful tool in this fight. As researchers explain, “Our findings suggest that regular physical activity could not only be important in prevention but may also improve the outcomes of existing treatments”.
The implications of these findings extend beyond mice. Since many of these processes work the same way in human. In fact, the researchers suggest that regular training could have the same cancer-fighting benefits in people. They suggest that by simply incorporating regular fitness routine into people life style can enhance body’s natural defenses against this disease, making immune cells more efficient at slowing down tumor growth.
Cancer remains one of the leading causes of death worldwide, and the immune system plays a crucial role in fighting it. This research opens up the possibility of combining something as simple and accessible as regular exercise with existing treatments to improve patient’s quality of life. Thanks to its potential to make these therapies more effective, also a short training could be the key tool to better long-term survival and recovery.
REFERENCE:
Rundqvist, H., et al. (2020). Cytotoxic T-cells mediate exercise-induced reductions in tumor growth. eLife, 9, e59996. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.59996​:contentReference[oaicite:0]{index=0}.
